


H2O

by Kaoz



Category: H2O: Just Add Water
Genre: F/M, Mako Island, mermaid - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-05
Updated: 2013-06-18
Packaged: 2017-11-20 10:03:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 13,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/584155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaoz/pseuds/Kaoz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Its time for a second generation and these girls find something unexpected during a summer vacation. The life-altering experience neither is sure they want to live with let alone if they can live without it...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

It's impossible not to judge. Tobías tries but the reality staring him in the face is difficult to ignore. He can hear people yelling; _see_ the rundown building- the entire area, really- fresh tag marks over the old and he doubts anyone will care to paint the building who knows for what ump-teenth time. The inside is no better. The white walls are gray, gouged or just busted and he won’t dwell on _what_ made the smaller holes peppering the entrance. It's a joke, the glass fronted door with the ‘security’ lock because he walked in just fine. The mailboxes have been pried open or torn half off the wall- it's a wonder anyone bothers to deliver mail…

The elevator doesn’t work. He finds that out after waiting a few minutes, staring at the dim button. He'd really have liked to avoid the six flights of stairs.

Tobías sighs, turns with a dejected slump in his shoulders and heads for the stairs. 

It smells.

Urine, if he's not mistaken and wrinkles his nose trying to breathe through his mouth but that’s just as gross. And the stairs? The black … whatever … could have at one point been a carpet. It’s beyond recognizable and in some spots there's what might be cement floor, which would make sense. He wonders if it could get better but doubts it.

She's been sitting in the stairwell wondering if he was really going to show up. It didn’t matter much if he did, the stairwell was the safest place… it beat whatever was going on in their apartment. Davys didn’t want to know what was going on- she wanted nothing to do with _that_.

“Thought you flaked.” There's an echo, kinda eerie but she's used to it. Even a whisper carries at least a floor- she would know.

Tobías stopped mid-flight and drew in a breath, almost coughing as the stench filled his lungs. He wasn’t in very good shape for a man of his age, 49 wasn’t that old anyway.

“Think I'm going to die right here.”

Davys barely cracked a smile. Tobías looked kinda ridiculous; his dark hair hung in his eyes, slightly curling. He was dressed too warmly for the mild California weather but then, Tobías was used to Caribbean warmth. 

“You're so out of shape… come on.” Davys slowly got up and offered him a hand. Something about him reminded Davys of her Father but the memories were vague at best and being sad just wasn’t in her anymore. Tobias chuckled, moving up the stairs to where she hadn’t moved, obviously expecting him to walk the rest of the way to the proffered hand.

“Am I there yet?” Tobías earned himself an eye roll. 

In the hallway he was once again reminded of where he was. The carpet stuck to the soles of his shoes making sucking sounds. Davys either ignored it or just didn’t care anymore. She led him to the apartment where they could both hear the argument taking place. 

“…” Davys didn’t want him to see the mess but didn’t know how to make him wait in the hallway. “Shoulda brought my stuff.”

“What was that?” Tobías glanced down and got a headshake in response coupled with a muttered ‘Nothing’. “Do you need to knock…?”

Davys sighed, wishing never got her much but it seemed a habit she couldn’t break herself of. “Not really.” Gritting her teeth, she turned the knob and shoved the door open. Her eyes went right to where her Mother was pleading with the looser. “I'm leaving now.”

Her announcement got their attention, if only briefly. The ‘conversation’ taking place stopped and both adults turned towards the door. Davys left Tobías in the living room; rushing to get her duffel and bag from the closet she called a bed room. She could hear them, her Mother barely able to show any interest in _where_ Tobías was taking her only child for the summer. What concerned Davys was the looser. She didn’t want him trying to start something with Tobías and it sounded as though the looser was just getting started. 

Tobías only had a quick a glance at the apartment but even that was enough to see it was run down and messy. There were wrappers and containers on the coffee table, more stains on the carpet than he’d want to acknowledge. The paint was the same shade of gray that had been in the hallway and at the entrance, with a crack running the length of the wall he was facing.

“Ready!” Davys headed straight for the door without pause- well, until she was yanked back by the strap of her duffel. Years of practice kept her from making a sound but Tobías didn’t miss the way she flinched, or that Davys kept her eyes downcast. 

“Where the fuck are you going? You don’t walk out without a word to your Mother.”

Tobías felt a need to step in but Davys was quick to appease the looser.

“Bye Mom.” Davys muttered yet again. “See you.”

“Be a good girl. Don’t make trouble.” They both knew her Mother was blowing air. Davys hardly got called on any bad behavior unless the looser had something to say about it. And Davys made it a point her bad behavior never made it home, though it did happen on rare occasions.

“Right.” 

“It’ll be fine.” Tobías assured hoping the tension in the room was just imagined. “Sofí’s been looking forward to this. I think she’s tired of it always being the two of us. Teenagers…” he smiled and gently guided Davys towards the door. “You have my numbers if you need to get a hold of Davys. Or if you just want to talk, day or night, feel free to call her.”

“Alright.”

Davys just wanted out. A little time away from ‘home’ could only be good….

**H2O**


	2. First Impressions

It was a regular hotel. Sofí has seen plenty of them; stayed in one or another anywhere Tobías’ work has taken them. The waiting around with nothing to do gets tiresome. Her **_To Do_** list is full of check marks; everything done so when the door opened and her Father walked in with her ‘cousin’ in tow she jumped to her feet ready to head out.

“…I think you'll like it. Sofí hasn’t minded yet- at least not that she's said-.”

“Because I don’t.” Sofí is happy they’ve finally arrived. She leaned around to get a look at the girl who still hadn’t said a word but her Father doesn’t move fast enough to get out of her way. “He blabbers.” She brushes him aside and finally sees the cousin she's never heard more than a few words about. “You’ll get used to it.”

“I don’t blabber.” Tobías frowned but now that the girls have met he's onto other things.

Sofí waved him off. She doesn’t miss anything, one quick glance and Sofí thinks she has an idea of the ‘type’ of girl her cousin could be.

_‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’_

“Hi.” Sofí extended her hand, smiling because she won’t be jumping to any conclusions without proof. “I'm Sofí. In case Dad hadn't mentioned it before.”

Davys only hesitated a second before accepting the hand offered to her. “Hey. I'm Davys.”

“So,” Sofí moved out of the way, glancing between her Dad and cousin. “He tell you where we’re going?” she's got a smile that’s mischievous. “I think Alaska requires more coats.”

“Alaska?” Davys suffers a moment of dread because cold is not what she planned for her summer. Summer was supposed to be warm if not hot, with beaches and sun and a whole lot of fun. And that’s not Alaska.

“…Alaska…?” Tobías tuned into the conversation and gave his daughter a slight shake of his head.

“Kidding.” Sofí shrugged. “Its sand and surf the entire summer.” She moved towards the door where Davys had only sidestepped just to stay out of the way. “Come on, Dad. Grab some luggage and let’s _go_.”

“I'm looking for the ti-.”

“Got them.” Sofí called as she tried to open the door with her bags in hand.

“You're sure?”

“Uh-huh.” Sofí stepped aside as Davys grabbed the handle and opened the door.

“Right. Ok, oh! I need to get-.”

“Got it too.” Because she’s checked it all off her list, the same one Tobías had left her that morning because he was trying to get a little work done. If she hadn't sent him off to get Davys they'd all be missing their flight.

“Sofí.”

“Dad.” Sofí dropped the bag in her hand and pulled out the list for him to see. “I've been ready to go the last two hours.” 

Tobías smiled. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” He grabbed his own bags and ushered Davys out the door before him. 

“What took you two so long? I mean, is LA traffic _that_ bad?” 

Davys snorted with an expressive eye roll to the back of her cousin and that just said a lot about city living and Sofí.

“Have you been on a plane before?” Tobías wondered and like before only got short answers that made him think she's not at all comfortable with him. But he's hoping for the best and that by the end of the summer they’ll all have become more of a family than they are now.

“It’s going to be a long trip. And several planes. You’ll definitely wish you never had to ride in one again.” Sofí assured with another smile. Davys just nods and hopes the plane trips will quiet the other girl because if she had to sit with a babbling teen… _‘I’d rather stay here and avoid the looser.’_

It would be easier.

**H2O**


	3. Arrivals

The plane trips weren't as bad as Davys expected and her cousin wasn’t annoying either. They had movies to keep them entertained and Sofí shared her toys, the DS certainly helped alleviate some of the boredom.

The boat ride was something else entirely and while Tobias was concerned Davys would become seasick, they were both pleasantly surprised it wasn’t the case.

A week spent idling in the hotel, by the pool, on the beach, getting lost around town… It’s a different kind of freedom. Davys doesn’t look forward to going home and the frown on her face is what Sofí decides to poke at.

“You’re so darn grumpy. What’s the deal?”

It’s not like Davys has been ‘nice’ to her cousin and being polite only gets her so far. It’s just that Sofí can't leave her alone too long before she's hovering like a Mother hen. It’s annoying.

“Did you finish your book already?” Davys sighs closing her eyes.

Sofí sits up, the tablet set aside and the frown on her face is leveled at her cousin. “Are you getting too much sun, Davys?”

“I don’t need a Mother hen.” Davys snaps swiping the shades off her face and glaring at Sofí. “You can stop hovering. Quit asking me stuff every five seconds!”

“Davys-.” Sofí has to bite her tongue to keep from snapping back as Davys leaves the pool area. She promised Tobias to make Davys feel comfortable even though this was _their_ time. Spending the year at a boarding school never left much Father Daughter time and Tobias had invited Davys along.

Sofí sat back in the lounge chair. Her frown turned towards the pool and the people splashing around in it.

“This is going to be long summer.”

**H2O**


	4. Like a Movie

They haven’t spoken to each other since the pool.

Davys is starting to hate the silence as much as she disliked Sofí’s constant attention.

“This is going to be fun.” Tobias assures walking past them. He's in work mode which means he's barely paid the girls attention except to make sure they were on the boat and safely stowed out of the way.

Davys wonders why her cousin hasn’t called him on it but doesn’t ask. It’s none of her business and she won’t be staying long enough to bother getting involved. She doesn’t need to alienate the one relative who has bothered to take an interest in her life.

The island they reach looks like something in a movie. Davys hasn’t been anywhere but LA. All her travels have been through movies.

“Stay with the group, girls.” The guide smiles and shoulders his pack.

Davys has no intention of straying or exploring on her own. “Don’t worry.” She grabs the pack he hands hers and slips it on. “I've seen plenty of movies. I'm so not going to be the first one to die.”

She gets a laugh from him and though she's smiling she really isn't joking.

“This isn't a movie.” Sofí grumbles walking past and that’s the first thing she's said to Davys since the pool.

“Come on, girls.” Tobias spares them a glance before he starts off with the other two scientist and their guide.

Sofí’s surprised her cousin hasn’t complained about hiking through the island. She figured there’d be some snide comments, a little moaning about the heat or even complaints about bugs… but no, not a thing.

 _‘So maybe she's used to the bugs.’_ Sofí thinks unkindly and almost immediately feels bad for thinking it. Is it really fair when Davys has it way worse at home than Sofí at her expensive boarding school?

Davys walks past as Sofí stops to take yet another picture. It’s some fancy camera that probably cost more than Davys gets to spend on food for the week. Still, it’s kinda nice being out of the city and noise. She wouldn’t have thought to like being away from it all but nature isn't as bad as she had dreaded.

“Girls! Keep up.”

Davys frowns because she's not the one holding them up. “Will you quit snapping pics every 2seconds, Sofí?”

“Hey, no one told you to wait for me.” Sofí retorts, slipping the camera strap over her head and hurrying to catch up.

“Whatever.” Davys keeps walking but she can’t spot the yellow vest her uncle is wearing. She stops.

“Ooph!” Sofí stumbles, her hands automatically latch onto Davys’ pack.

“Watch it!” Davys snaps.

“Who told you to stop in the middle of the path?” Sofí demands.

“What path?” Davys can’t see it anymore and to tell the truth she hadn't seen it to start with. All she had been doing was following the guide and then the yellow vest no one had told Tobias was not his best color.

“The path…” Sofí trails off looking around but she doesn’t see where they got off the little trail either. “Great.”

“You got us lost.” Davys accuses. “That’s just perfect.”

“I didn’t get us lost.” Sofí denies scowling at her cousin. “You did.”

“Me?”

“I was following you!”

“You're the one clicking away on your stupid camera!” Davys stomps past her cousin and starts walking.

“Where are you going?” Sofí quickly follows, careful to avoid the branches snapping back at her.

“To find Uncle Tobias.” Davys smacks at the branch in front of her. “Is that alright with you?” she looks over her shoulder in time to see Sofí duck the branch she's just let go off.

“Stop trying to kill me!” Sofí yells.

“You wish.” Davys turns taking a step back. “If I wanted to hurt you-!” she gasps as the ground drops out under her. She flails, falling backwards into the hole that opened in the ground.

“Davys!!” Sofí lunges forward, her hand reaching to grab for her cousin but she's gone. “Davys! Davys!” she drops to her stomach and carefully crawls to the edge of the hole but she can’t see into the dark. “Davys!”

“Quit yelling at me!”

Relief floods through Sofí she's not even annoyed with her cousin. “Are you ok? Davys?”

“Define ‘ok’?” she snaps. “I just fell into a hole in the ground!” and she hates the fact she can barely see in front of her face. This is when the monster bugs come out and try to eat you. “Shit, I'm so not supposed to die first!”

“Will you calm down?” Sofí calls down.

“You're not the one in the hole, Sofía so you shut up!” Davys hisses up to the light. She tries not to move but getting up seems smart. Maybe it’ll make the bug monster think twice if she's bigger than it?

“Hold on, I’ll get the rope and pull you up.” Sofí calls down.

“Hurry up.” Davys shifts, turning in a circle under the light from the hole above her. “I hate bugs and I hate dark holes in the ground even more.”

“Hate is such a strong term.” Sofí notes. “Dislike is much better.”

“Are you shitting me?” Davys looks up incredulous. “I'm in a fucking hole and you're correcting my grammar?”

“Every moment is one you can learn from.” Sofí uncoils the rope from her pack and looks for a tree close enough to tie it. “What else do you dislike?”

“Right now?” Davys glares. “You!”

“Hey,” Sofí calls down. “I'm the one with the rope whos trying to get you out of the hole _you_ fell into.” She points out. “I’d be nice if I were in your shoes.”

“I wish you were in my shoes.” Davys mutters. “I’d leave your ass here.” She glances at the shadows that don’t seem so dark but she's still not about to go exploring.

“I heard that.” Sofí says getting up. Her first step away from the hole sinks up to her ankle in the dirt that starts to crumble. “Oh no.” she gasps before the ground breaks up and she's falling in.

Davys ducks away from the dirt and rocks falling over her head.

Sofí coughs, swiping at the dirt on her face as she blinks up to the clear sky visible through the trees.

“Nice of you to drop in.” Davys scowls, hands on her hips. “How the hell do we climb out now?”

“How about; “Sofí, are you ok? You're not hurt are you?” Because that’s what people do when someone else falls into a hole in the ground!” Sofí yells getting up.

“You're yelling.” Davys points out. “I’d say you're fine. But now that we’re both in the hole we are screwed.”

“Why don’t you think of a way out.” Sofí bends to dig through a dirt pile and pulls out her pack thankful it hadn't been too far from her up top.

“Yeah, I’ll MacGyver us a ladder, just a sec.” Davys takes off her pack, yanking it open.

“I like that show.” Sofí smiles.

“I don’t care!” Davys snaps and quickly jumps to her feet brushing at her leg, screaming. “Get it off! Get it off!!”

“What?!” Sofí drops her pack and rushes towards Davys but she backs up jumping and kicking at the sandy ground. “Davys!”

“It’s on me!” Davys stumbles on the rocks that fell in with them and smacks into some roots. She screams louder feeling them give way at her back and then she's rolling over on sandy dirt.

“Davys?” Sofí’s voice drifts through the opening. “Can you hear me?”

“Holy shit.” Davys blinks, absently swipes at the sand on her face and scans the rest of her little cave. She's startled when her pack comes flying through to land at her side.

Sofí tugs more of the roots out of the way and steps down only to slide to the bottom where Davys is huddling.

“Wow.” Sofí looks up and around, hand already grabbing the camera.

“Will you stop with the pictures?” Davys demands. “We should be looking for a way out.”

“Relax.” Sofí stands up and starts exploring. “You likely scared off the other bugs with your screaming.”

“That’s not funny.” Davys snaps getting to her feet. She carefully inspects her pack before slipping it on again. “I hate bugs.”

“I've never seen a rock like this before.” Sofí taps it, curious.

“You shouldn’t be touching anything.” Davys warns. “It could be full of alien bugs or some dormant primeval goop. Who knows what’s going to come out and try to have us for dinner.”

“You watch too much TV, Davys. That stuff isn't real.” Sofí scoffs.

“Right, well those writers had to base their ‘fiction’ on something.” Davys groans as Sofí starts moving towards the crack in one of the softly glowing walls of the cave. “Didn’t you hear anything I said?”

“I feel a draft.” Sofí points out. “This could be our way out.”

“No.” Davys shakes her head. “That’s out way out.” She points back to the hole they fell through.

“Go right ahead.” Sofí smiles and slips into the crack. “I’ll meet you outside.”

“You don’t even know where you're going!” Davys calls rushing to the crack. “This is how those girls in _The Descent_ died! Sofí!” she closes her eyes and bangs her head on the smooth rock. “This is where the audience starts yelling at the dumb blond to turn the fuck around and forget about exploring.”

“We aren't blonds!” Sofí calls. Davys scowls hearing the amusement in her voice.

**H2O**


	5. Exit

 

Sofí is afraid. She's hiding it because Davys hasn’t stopped muttering those crazy movie references about monsters and caves and killer bugs and whatever other nonsense people have come up with. It’s just a little never wracking considering their current situation and she's thinking maybe she should've listened to Davys because so far they’ve been going down and not up.

“This is only going to end up badly.” Davys says at her back. “And so you know, I'm shoving you in front of whatever comes at us.”

“I wouldn’t be here if you’d managed to stay above ground. And who told you to wander off the path?” Sofí snaps.

“What fucking path?!” Davys exclaims.

“So you're not afraid your screams are going to draw these non-existent monsters to us then?” Sofí arches a dark eyebrow but she's starting to worry about those fake monsters. What if they are real? Davys is right because writers have to base their fiction on something, right?

“I was better off at home.” Davys glares and walks past the cramped little tunnel forgetting her rule about using Sofí as a buffer just in case.

They have to crawl the next few feet but Davys feels that breeze her cousin had pointed out.

“Is that light?” Sofí scoots closer wishing she’d stayed in front.

“Get your face out of my ass.” Davys demands crawling out into yet another cave.

“Hurry up.” Sofí pushes the boots out of her way and climbs to her feet beside Davys.

“Another hole.” Davys notes drily. “And all we had to do was crawl around in the dark to get to it. Yay.”

“Sarcasm isn't going to help us climb out.” Sofí frowns. She looks at the rock walls all around the cave and the vines hanging down from the hole where they can see the sky- at least the reddish purple hue of the quickly setting sun.

“We should've stayed.” Davys sighs. “They’d have found us by now.”

They move to where the water laps at the ground but Davys is quick to pull her cousin to a stop. “No way.”

“Now what?” Sofí sighs annoyed.

“It’s a hole in the ground full of water and we’re on an island.” Davys states as though the problem should be obvious. “Hey!” she exclaims when Sofí walks up to the edge and looks in.

"I wouldn't get that close." Davys warns. "Which is what they told Samuel L Jackson in the movie _Deep Blue Sea_ but he just kept talking and the shark came up and Jaws _ate_ him!"Sofí just ignores her. The water is so clear she can see the sandy bottom and there are blue crystals scattered in the sand at the edge.

“You have got to be the craziest person in the world.” Davys scowls. “How are you still alive?”

“I'm smart.” Sofí walks around the pool and inspects the rock face. It’s the same as the one in the other cave but only in places and there are roots growing out of the side. “I’ll climb up and tie the rope around a tree trunk. We can get ourselves out.” Sofí steps back, takes off her pack and looks for the plastic bag she always carries.

“You're going to fall.” Davys states.

“I've climbed rocks before.” Sofí assures and slips her camera now wrapped in plastic back into her pack. “Besides, if I slip I’ll land in the pool.” She stands up and smiles at her cousin before turning back to the rock.

“So then Jaws can have you.” Davys throws her hands up. “What do you want me to tell Uncle Tobias?”

“Tell him how you got us lost then how you dropped us into the ground and I saved us.” Sofí ends with a grunt, using her fingers to find any grooves in which to find a hold.

“Dream on.” Davys mutters watching her cousin start to climb higher. “You should get down before you hurt yourself.”

Sofí doesn’t bother answering. She gets stuck halfway up, looking for another hand hold when her foot slips under the crumbling rock. She pushes off not wanting to scrape against the cave wall.

Davys holds her breath, tense as Sofí splashes into the water. “Sofí?” her voice is just a whisper. The next instant she moves, running towards the edge of the pool and screw Jaws. “Sofí!”

The water is cool and Sofí’s first thought is that she's glad her camera won’t be getting wet. The second is that the pool is deep but she has no trouble diving to the bottom where she grabs the crystal lying in the sand. There's a sparkling trail buts she's running out of breath.

“Sofí!” Davys rears back as her cousin pops up out of the water and takes a gasping breath. “Grab my hand!” she reaches, worried there's something in the water that’s going to drag them both in.

“Calm down.” Sofí splashes a handful at her cousin that gets her in the face. “Oops!” but she laughs.

“You can fucking drown for all I care!” Davys glares wiping water from her face.

“I can swim, Davys and there's nothing down here that’s going to have me for dinner.” Sofí rolls her eyes. That’s when she notices the dark sky above and realizes the pool is perfectly centered under the hole in the cave.

“Get. Out.” Davys growls past her clenched teeth.

“Why?” Sofí swims to the edge and holds on looking for something to help get herself out of the water.

“So I can push you in again.” Davys snaps. She grits her teeth at Sofí’s laugh and almost kicks the wet pack sloshing onto the sand at her feet.

“Then help me out.” Sofí holds out her hand after her second attempt lands her in the pool again.

Davys reluctantly leans over, grabs her cousins wrist and pulls. Sofí tries to help by stepping on the side of the pool. She slips and Davys yelps feeling Sofí's weight drag her down. The splash they make sends water out of the pool while Davys kicks wildly under the water to break the surface.

“You bitch!” Davys exclaims making a grab at her cousin.

“It was an accident!” Sofí yells back. “I was trying to help. My foot slipped!”

“Bull shit! You did it on purpose!” Davys makes another grab but Sofí splashes water in her face.

“What is that?” Sofí frowns and Davys stops trying to grab her. They both watch the bubbles forming around them.

“I'm getting out!” Davys scrambles to the edge of the pool when the flash of moonlight glints on the water. Bubbles float up, tickling their legs when Davys slips trying to climb out and goes under.

Sofí is already there, curiosity getting the best of her and she grabs Davys’ hand. She offers a reassuring smile and both girls break the surface, faces turned up to the moon.

It passes and the girls come out of their trance.

“What the hell was that?” Davys demands. She swims to the edge yelling at Sofí like it’s her fault and demands answers about the bubbles and the weirdness of whatever happened.

“I have no idea, Davys.” Sofí swims over to the edge and helps Davys get out. “I’ll get a sample of the water and the sand at the bottom. Give me the vials in my pack.”

“Are you fucking out of your mind?” Davys demands pulling her feet out of the pool and moving as far away from it as possible.

“What?” Sofí blinks.

“You're just like those nerdy science geeks that end up dead because they just can’t quit while they're ahead!” she exclaims running both hands through her wet hair.

“More movie references?” Sofí sighs. “Will you give me the vials?”

“Here! Knock yourself out.” Davys jerks the plastic containers out of the pack and tosses them at Sofí. She keeps muttering while Sofí dives under yet again and only gets louder when she comes up. “Forget it.” She snaps when Sofí looks at her meaningfully. “Last time I tried helping you out of the pool you dragged me in.”

“Honestly, I really did slip.” Sofí rolls her eyes.

Davys stomps over and grabs her cousin’s wrist this time bracing herself. Once Sofí is out of the pool she chucks the blue crystal at Davys.

“Souvenir.” She smiles and digs around her pack coming out with a pointy looking hammer.

“Now what?” Davys scowls.

“Getting some samples.” Sofí hammers away at the rock wall struggling to chip off a piece of the stone.

“Why? And who do you think is going to care?” Davys kicks at the loose rocks that land in the pool with a sinking plop. She's quick to put more distance between the water and herself.

“I care and if you're demanding answers about the bubbles then apparently so do you.” Sofí retorts and steps back with a chunk of rock the size of her fist.

“And you're going to be ‘looking into’ all the weirdness, right. No one’s letting you near Uncle Tobias’ fancy gizmos.”

“Who said I was gonna ask?” Sofí smirks and packs up her things once again. “Ok,” she stands up and shoulders her pack. “We aren't climbing out, that’s for sure.”

“No shit genius.” Davys rolls her eyes.

“And we aren't going back to the hole you made.” Sofí retorts.

“Why the hell not?” Davys demands.

“Because there's a second option.” Sofí smiles.

“And you just fell off it.” Davys points to the wall.

“Ok, so third option.” Sofí shrugs moving to the pools edge. She points at it watching Davys shake her head vehemently.

“NO fucking way.” Davys crosses her arms over her chest and glares at her cousin. “I don’t swim anywhere that isn't a pool because then I can’t see the shark coming at me. Plus,” she glares. “It’s dark and I don’t swim in anything I can’t see the bottom of.”

“That’s a lot of rules for swimming.” Sofí notes then shrugs. “I’ll check it out and if there are any sharks-.”

“I told you so won’t be necessary since you will have been chomped on. I will, however, be sure to tell Uncle Tobias that you ignored my advice when they come to get me.” Davys cuts in. she takes a quick steps towards her cousin when Sofí just dives into the pool. “Shit!”

**H2O**


	6. Bickering Sea Tails

As worried as Tobias was when he couldn’t find the girls he was too relieved when they spotted the fire on the beach to yell at them for getting lost.

He got them back to the mainland and the two story rental praising Davys for building the fire noting Sofí grudgingly admitted she hadn't been able to get one going. He was going to have to take her aside and have a talk because it wasn’t as though he hadn't noticed the tension between the girls.

But it could wait.

The next morning Tobias heads out to the island again leaving the girls to sleep in. It seems their best option and he’d rather not worry about losing the girls again.

Sofí is the first one up, brewing coffee before taking advantage of the pool hoping to have some more time alone before her cousin decides to invade the peaceful late morning with questions about their adventure.

It’s the yelling that wakes Davys and she tries ignoring it but Sofí gets louder. “Shower.” She grumbles because the water has to drown out her cousin. She stomps out of bed grumbling under her breath and grabs the towel before heading into the bathroom they share.

“Shut up already.” She glares at the closed door and strips off her tank and shorts before stepping into the shower. She remembers to turns the single knob all the way to the left to get warm water right off the bat then slowly shift it back so it doesn’t burn.

What Davys doesn’t expect is the sudden unstableness of her legs or the sight of scales on her body as she tips over. She screams and doesn’t stop screaming while the fish tail sticks out over the edge of the tub and moves when she does.

The bathroom door bust open and Sofí rushes in sidestepping the fins and grabs the shower knob switching it off.

Her hand gets wet in the process and not a second later she tips over landing on her back on the cold tiles and Davys screams again pointing at the fins.

“Great.” Davys lies back in the tub dragging in deep breaths and both girls are staring at the sky light. She's trying to keep cool but inside she's freaking out though she's hoping it’s all a dream and she's going to wake up soon.

“Yup.” Sofí sighs, wondering when the bitching is going to start and nods when it does.

“You know this is your fault.” Davys doesn’t even look at Sofí.

“You're the one who fell in the whole in the first place. Besides, we don’t even know what caused….this.” Sofí waves at their tails.

“I don’t want to end up dissected by mad government scientist.” Davys snaps galring at her cousin. “So you better figure out a way to find out what the hell happened to us and how to fix it.”

“Where would you like me to start?” Sofí pinches her nose and tries to remain cool but Davys is getting on her nerves.

“We sure as hell weren't sporting fish tails yesterday- at least I wasn’t so it had to have happened on the island and the only place we were together was in that cave so obviously the answer is there.”

“I hope you didn’t strain yourself figuring that out.” because Davys tends to act dumb to get out of ‘chores’ Tobias gives them since it’s a working summer for him and Sofí is used to the work.

“You asked.” Davys snaps as she starts trying to get out of the tub.

“Sarcasm.” Sofí mutters and starts thinking through what happened in the cave.

“My middle name.” Davys retorts and smacks her hand in the water splashing Sofí in the process.

“More water isn’t going to help the tails go away. Stop. Splashing. Me.” Sofi lifts her head and glares and gets more water thrown at her. Annoyed, Sofí lifts her hand-not that it’s going to block the water coming at her face- and is surprised when the water floats in a puddle in mid-air. Sofí squeaks in alarm and scrambles or tries to get away from it and it splashes on her tail.

“What the hell was that?” Davys quietly demands.

“I,I,I,…!!” Sofí breathes out in shock.

“You're definitely a freak.” Davys mutters.

“Says the other girl with her fishtail hanging out of the tub.” Sofí mutters and then moves her hand trying to make the water move, they both scream when it does.

“Alright. Knock it off, Sofía!” Davys orders.

“First its figure out what the hell happened to us and now its knock it off. Are you bi-polar? Make up your mind!” Sofí snaps.

“Quit with the funky hand shit and the water and you- you- !!!” Davys sinks into the tub, hands covering her face and muffling her scream. She tells herself this isn't happening but then the feel of the scales on her body is…

“Oh, mature.” Sofí rolls her eyes and rests her back on the door. She's thinking about the bubbles. “The water. Hey, we were both in the water. We were in the cave together and then in the water.”

“I knew those bubbles weren't normal.” Davys glares at Sofí who tries yet again to explain the natural occurrence of gas pockets. “Not interested in the ocean floor farting, Sofí.”

“My God, I'm not even going to bother explaining this to you. You don’t even care!”

“Hey, you see this?” Davys flips her tail. “It’s all I care about right now.”

“Obviously. It’s all about Davys right?” Sofí crosses her arms, upset with having to put up with Davys because her Dad feels sorry for her.

“As opposed to what? Oh, right. Sorry. Princess Sofí isn’t the center of Daddy’s world with the annoying cousin around this summer. Did I cut in on your Father-Daughter time?” Davys has tears and blinks them away cus she's not about to cry in front of anyone.

“Yeah, that’s right. This is my time with Dad and all you’ve done is bitch and sulk about. Why the hell didn’t you stay home?” Sofí demands. Its about time they had it out and its not like Tobias is going to walk in the teenage mermaids.

“Don’t worry. I'm on the next flight as soon as you figure out how the fuck to get rid of this krap!” Davys promises.

“Well, I’ll get right on it, Boss.” Sofí snaps a salute. Davys flips her off. The silence is about 5seconds long.

“I wouldn’t even have this tail if it weren't for you!” Davys yells.

Sofí points to her own tail. “You're not the only one with the tail, Davys. So how do you figure the blame is all mine? Because it couldn’t possibly be yours. No way, Davys is never at fault for anything. Davys never does anything wrong. Are you ever going to take responsibility for anything? I mean-.”

“You were the one exploring.” Davys snaps.

“I was actively looking for a way out and hey, I did find it.” Sofí

“By going in the water. Should I thank you for this now?” Davys points to her tail.

“How is this my fault?!” Sofí demands.

“Because you wouldn’t step back and you know, I'm sorry if I didn’t want to tell Uncle Tobias you got eaten by a shark.” Davys snaps back.

“You and your sharks, Davys you watch too much TV.” Sofí sits up.

“Alright miss I know it all, how the hell - Wait, you were screaming out there.” Davys hangs onto the tub and turns over to look at Sofí.

“Lot of good that did.” Sofí snorts crossing her arms. “You didn’t bother coming outside. I could be dead for all you care.”

“Those weren't death screams.” Davys retorts but she really wouldn’t know either way.

“We just have to dry off.” Sofí explains after a moment of sullen silence. “That’s what happened when I finally managed to get out of the pool which is why I had been screaming at first. I was shocked by the tail.” She looks at it now, shiny pale blue scales mixed with darker teal and turquois around the fins.

Davys runs her fingers along the banding forming a sort of bandeau across her chest that still leaves too much skin exposed for her comfort.

“We’re mermaids, Davys…” Sofí is in awe, flicking her fins experimentally.

“Mermaids aren't real.” Davys looks at her own tail and ignores Sofí's demand to explain what they are and won't accept that they're fish so she better come up with something a lot better.

“I don’t care! Fix it! Get rid of it!” Davys yells.

Sofí finally has it. She glares at her cousin struggling in the tub. “You do get that we are both going to end up dissected? Because I didn’t wake up all of a sudden wanting to become half fish just like you didn’t want to spend the summer with us and maybe you should’ve said something instead of meekly doing as you were told cus you certainly doesn’t hesitate to mouth off.”

“You're lucky I can't get up out of this fucking tub because I'm-.” Davys struggles to get out of the tub anyway.

“Oh what! What, huh? What is tough, half-fish, smart-ass you going to do, huh?” Sofí demands from her spot on the floor.

Neither girl expects the steam rising from the bubbling water in the tub and Davys is more shocked when it doesn’t burn her.

“How…how…what?” Sofí demands as Davys grabs a towel and stands in the bathroom. “How'd you do that? What did you do?” Sofí scowls.

“I…I don’t know…huh.” Davys looks at her hands, turns them over and then tries it on Sofí who immediately protests and tries to get away. “Stop that!” she orders angrily which annoys Davys and it works.

“You're welcome.” She tosses a towel at her cousin.

Sofí rolls her eyes. “You can at least let me say thank you first.”

“Right.” Davys moves to open the door.

“Some of us weren't raised by wolves, Davys. I do have manners and the proper thing to do is say thank you so…thanks.” Sofí stands up and heads out of the bathroom wrapping the towel around her waist.

**H2O**


	7. Change of Scenery

 

Tobias has the girls meet him on the boat because they're going out to study the reefs. The girls don’t have an excuse for not going and they are paranoid about getting wet. Each once comes up with an excuse so they manage to stay down until Tobias makes them sit up-top and enjoy the sun.

“Krap.” Davys mutters eyeing her cousin as they follow behind Tobias who quickly makes his way to his make-shift work station.

“Just avoid getting wet.” Sofí breathes trying for a reassuring smile. They head up where they are surrounded by an ocean. They're both nervous and Davys’ threat of them being dissected by crazy scientists is foremost in Sofí's mind.

“Wave!” Davys flinches as the spray shoots up towards them. She squeezes her eyes shut picturing herself strapped down in some cold laboratory.

But the water never touches her.

Sofí shakes her hand and the orbs of water wiggle where she holds them. Both girls look at each other wondering what to do.

“Ideas?” Sofí whispers looking over her shoulder.

“Like what?” Davys frowns worried but then she tries to evaporate it and makes it one big gloopy blob of jelly.

Sofí isn't impressed.

Davys hurries with Sofí up to the deck and spreads out her towel. She can’t get comfortable what with the threat of water all around them and nowhere to hide the tails. She's been thinking about this- being a mermaid- and she fervently wants it gone. Because she can’t have one more thing to deal with once she goes home. Spending the summer away from her Mom and the city has been great buts it’s not permanent and she's got a couple of weeks before its time to go home. And then what?

“How am I supposed to my tail when I live in a krappy apartment that only has one bathroom with a lock that doesn’t that doesn’t work?” she rubs her hands over her face.

“Too many people could find her out and then I'm dead because nobody is going to care aside from some geeky doctors who’ll want to do experiments on me. And before you can say I watch too many movies they aren’t all baloney because some of them are based on fact and that’s our reality- or what we have to look forward to if someone finds out.”

Sofí blows out a heavy sigh because Davys is right.

“I don’t think we could my Dad.” Sofí turns to look at her cousin hoping maybe they can but the look on Davys face says she's not going to considering letting him on their secret.

“Your Dad is a scientist.” Davys states in case Sofí had forgotten that fact.

**H2O**


	8. What You Don't Know...

 

The conversation Tobias has with Sofí explains a lot of things for her.

“I've seen you girls together.” Tobias points out with that goofy smile of his. “I'm really glad you girls are getting along, Sofí.”

“Me too.” But she's guilt ridden at the unintended lie because it’s not how he's thinking.

“I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out. I know you look forward to our summers. It’s always been the two of us and I want to thank you for sharing with Davys.” he pats her arm and draws her in for a hug.

“It’s not how I expected, Dad.” Sofí murmurs. “But I guess it’s not as bad as it could be.”

He chuckles and looks down at his little girl. “Davys doesn’t have it easy with her Mom.”

“What aren't you telling me, Dad?” Sofí frowns.

“Can’t hide much from you can I?” Tobias shakes his head and looks out at their view of the water. “I've been thinking… Sofí? You're old enough to watch over yourself- I mean, you don’t need a babysitter, someone to cook for you…”

“Nope…” Sofí still doesn’t get where he's going but somewhere inside she starts to hope.

“What about some changes then?” Tobias questions. “No more boarding school?”

“Dad…! You mean it?” Sofí can barely breathe just waiting for the answer that’s always been when ‘No’ when she's asked it.

“Yeah,” Tobias smiles. “And maybe… well, you’ll think about Davys coming to live with us as well.”

Sofí deflates. “What?” she can’t help the disappointed expression on her face but she’d been hoping to stay home with him and it just seems like the only reason he was giving in to her incessant pleas was because of Davys.

“It’s just…” Tobias sighs and takes both of Sofí's hands in his. “What I saw…” he shakes his head. “I'm concerned for her safety. Her Mother isn't interested in Davys’ well-being, not that I could see.”

“What do you mean?” Sofí questions.

“It’s a rough neighborhood, Sofí. And… well, I don’t like boyfriend. Davys had some bruises she tried to hide and I think her Mom’s boyfriend is the cause. I'm almost certain there is some kind of abuse though I hope it’s not as bad as-.” He stops, realizing the concerns he's about to voice to his teenage daughter. It’s not his place to burden her with the idea of those things. “Just… think about it Sofí. And maybe, talk to Davys. See if she’d be open to the change?” he smiles and pats her hands.

It makes sense. Sofí gets the attitude and why Davys is always too stiff whenever there's hugging involved.

 _‘Abuse?’_ she wonders staring out at the water.

The thought of not going away for the school year lifts her mood just a bit and now with their mermaid problem Sofí thinks it’s best if they stuck together. It isn't as though Davys hasn’t expressed concern over being discovered by her Mom.

Honestly, Sofí's worried about that too. How was she ever going to manage a shower in a locker room full of girls?

**H2O**


	9. Art Project

It’s unbearably hot and Davys is glaring at the pool like it’s to blame.

“Let’s swim.” Sofí sits up, her eyes skipping from the pool to her cousin’s glare.

“Did you forget our recent allergy to water?” Davys glowers. “You know, that part where we turn into friggin _fish_!” she says in a hiss.

“Come on.” Sofí urges but she just figures they should get to know their fishy side. “What’s the point of being mermaids if we aren't swimming in the ocean?”

Davys doesn’t like it. “There are sharks in the ocean.”

But that only gets Sofí laughing and then she makes fun of _Jaws_ because it’s only a movie and sharks don’t get that big anymore.

It’s the combination of things that get Davys so mad the pool starts to boil.

“Why do you get two and all I got was the silly ability to make water move?” Sofí pouts.

“I'm cool like that.” Davys snaps. She lays back in the lounge chair trying to ignore the heat but even in the shade that’s impossible.

Sofí sighs. “I wish it wasn’t so damn hot.” She scowls at her fidgeting cousin. “I wish you weren't such a fraidy-cat. We could be swimming out there in the cool water…” she sighs. She picks up the cup on the table between them and takes a sip only to spit out the lukewarm juice. “Gross, all the ice melted.”

“Too bad you can’t make ice cubes.” Davys mutters.

“Cant…?” Sofí swirls the glass making the liquid slosh watching as it slowly turns to slush and then the glass ices over all at once. “Holy krap!” she exclaims and drops the glass.

“What?!” Davys sits up, both girls staring at the clumps of melting icejuice and broken bits of glass. “Did you make that into ice?”

“Uh….” Sofí looks up wide-eyed. “Maybe?”

**H2O**

They're in their room playing with a water net, each one making a change in the pattern while thinking up possible scenarios.

“You have a wild imagination that’s only made worse by all those movies you've watched.” Sofí states with a slight frown. “There's not one scenario you've painted that doesn’t end badly. Or start badly.” She adds.

“Yeah, that’s realistic.” Davys scoffs. “There's no happily ever after in this.”

“Says who?” Sofí glances over and the net wobbles with her lack of focus.

“I'm going to laugh when it splashes on you then I'm gonna kill you because we aren't alone in the house, Sofí!” Davys threatens with a worried look to the door.

“Did you lock it?” Sofí looks over.

“I thought you did.” Davys scowls. “Figures.”

They startle at the sound of heavy footsteps, the water web jiggles and Davys makes it slushy before it can splash on her cousin. At the same time Sofí tries to freeze it and when the door opens Tobias pokes his head in.

“Girls?” he smiles seeing them sitting up in their beds. “Got a minute?”

Davys cant take her eyes off the glass web in Sofí's hands.

“Sure, Dad.” Sofí sits up and tries her best not to draw attention to the art piece in her lap.

“Great, well, I got the job.” He beams, his eyes skipping from one girl to the other and back. “The teaching position?” he reminds Sofí who quickly nods.

“Right! At the University. That’s great Dad!” she smiles and there's the silver lining to their storm cloud. “So its beaches for the next school year. Awesome!”

“Don’t forget.” He reminds heading to the door. “We’re leaving in three days and this island, I'm sorry to say, will be our home until it’s time to start my new position.”

“Island?” Davys echoes wondering if it’s going to be like the one with the bubbling-fizzy water that made her a mermaid.

“Yes, that means less of a social life for you girls to enjoy.” Tobias admits.

“It’ll be fine, Dad. Don’t worry about us.” Sofí assures with a bright smile.

“Good,” he smiles relieved. “That’s a pretty nice piece.” He nods to the web in Sofí’s lap.

“We got it at the flea market.” Davys blurts out.

“Well, it’s nice.” Tobias closes the door behind him and Sofí eyes her cousin.

“Flea market?” Sofí echoes incredulous.

“Like you had anything better.” Davys scoffs and picks up the blue stone from the cave.

Sofí sets it on the night stand staring at it. “You know…” she looks up at Davys. “We could set the stones with something like this. Wear them on a chain long enough to hide under out shirts…”

“You want to make the stones into pendants?” Davys wonders eyeing the blue rock in her hand.

“Why not?” Sofí shrugs. She grabs the cup on the dresser and heads to the bathroom. Davys watches her come back with a full glass and watches her play with it, making a smaller net that will hold the rock she picked up from the bottom of the pool.

“What do you think?” Sofí points.

“It looks too thin. You don’t think they’ll break?” Davys tilts her head watching the threads thicken up a little more.

“I like this, will you do the goopy jelly thing please?” Sofí glances over after setting her stone inside the net.

Davys is pickier and it takes longer but by the end of the night both girls have their stones set into the nets they designed, ready to be put on a chain.

Davys falls asleep with the pendant still in her hand. It’s the first piece of jewelry she owns and that knowledge makes her a little sad. Her Dad’s ring is gone, sold years back by her Mom for who knows what. She can remember him wearing it, sitting on his lap watching a movie and playing with the ring.

_“You can have it when you're older Davy.”_

But Davys got older and he’d been dead….

**H2O**


	10. First Moon and the Mermaid

The boat house worries both girls simply because they are surrounded by water and no place to hide their tails while Tobías is around.

“So…” Davys looks around at the bedroom they're going to share. “Did we have to give up the house so soon?”

“We had two more days, Dad.” Sofí adds. They’ve set their bags on the beds, both girls looking at Tobías.

“No point in staying there.” He shrugs. “Besides, this is our home- or it will be while I finish my work on the island.” He smiles. “Don’t worry girls, there will be a proper house when I start at the University.”

Sofí bites her lip, glancing at Davys from the corner of her eye as Tobías leaves them to unpack. She hasn’t broached the subject of moving in together like her Dad had asked her to do.

“Great.” Davys grumbles and starts pulling clothes from her bag. “How are we supposed keep it a secret now?”

“We’ll figure it out.” Sofí assures and starts to unpack.

“Did you see the bathroom?” Davys scowls. “The one _without_ a tub.”

“Yeah, that’s going to be a problem.” Sofí sighs. It won’t be easy to shower with their tails and neither of the bathrooms had a tub.

“No shit.” Davys glares at her clothes and tosses everything on the bed cursing softly before storming out of the boat house.

“Great.” Sofí plops down on her bed and looks around the room without really seeing it. She thinks of what Tobías said about her aunt and the way Davys’ life is. Some of the things Davys snapped at her about… about her school and calling her ‘princess’…. So maybe a little resentment is understandable. But it still isn't Sofí’s fault their lives are different and she shouldn’t have to feel bad about it.

**H2O**

Their first night on the boathouse, both girls get caught by the thrall of their first moon. Davys dives over the side without any complaint or mention of sharks. Sofí right behind her, not interested in teasing her about it.

They swim out to the moon pool entering through the same underwater tunnel that Davys had vehemently refused to even enter the night they got lost.

The bubbles don’t scare them this time and the moon slowly makes its way across the opening above until it passes.

Davys blinks. “What was that?” she wonders softly.

“Hmm?” Sofí slowly turns, her eyes taking in the cave and the soft glow of the rocks.

“Let’s go.” Davys frowns, her mind not really focusing on anything except for the calm she feels and the freedom of being in the water gives her.

“Not home.” Sofí protests mildly. “Not yet.”

“I want to swim.” Davys states then ducks under the water and disappears.

Sofí's right behind her, grinning.

**H2O**

They’ve noticed the change. How Sofí has no problem calling up a breeze whenever she wants. She wasn’t happy when Tobías asked her to defrost the tiny freezer but then it had been her fault it had become a block of ice. All she had wanted was to make it colder…

It wasn’t as bad as Davys almost torching the little Bar-B-Q pit trying to light the coal. So they both agreed no more midnight swims to the pool.

But that didn’t mean they couldn’t go out to explore during the day.

“Finally!” Sofí grins. They dive in with barely a note scribble to let Tobías know they’ve gone out.

Its Sofí who points out interesting sea life and Davys is less and less concerned about her fear of sharks. She's way faster than any shark- Jaws or not.

The flash of a tail a dark gold grabs Davys attention and she's quick to follow it. What she finds is not at all what she was expecting.

 _‘Mermaids aren't real.’_ She thinks but the mermaid staring back at her is just as surprised to see her. They slowly swim to the surface never breaking their eye contact.

“You're blue.”

Davys blinks. “You're gold.”

The mermaid smiles. “I've never seen one like you.”

“I've never seen a mermaid.” Davys reveals. “You're real then? I mean…”

“I'm Emma.” She laughs and then spots Sofí as she comes up to their left. “You're blue too!”

“You're a mermaid!” Sofí exclaims.

“That’s my cousin.” Davys rolls her eyes. “She's always pointing out the obvious, annoyingly correcting grammar-. Hey!” she protests as a splash of water ducks her under.

“You manipulate water!” Emma gasps still smiling. She splashes some up and freezes the drops that plonk into the ocean between them.

“Sofí!” Davys glares coming up.

“She can freeze water.” Sofí points at Emma. “So… are you-were you … _born_ a mermaid?”

“No.” Emma replies, her gaze bouncing between the girls. “Were you?”

“Nope, but I blame her for my tail.” Davys points at Sofí who shakes her head.

“If you weren't born a mermaid then how?” Sofí wonders. “And why are you a different color? Are there more mermaids? Are we all different colors?”

“Let her speak.” Davys glares at her cousin.

Emma has questions too but bobbing in the middle of the ocean isn't safe for them.

“Easy,” Sofí shrugs. “We know a place.”

“What?” Davys frowns. “We said we weren't going back there?!”

“At night.” Sofí points out. “We have plenty of time before the sun sets.”

“NO.” Davys crosses her arms. “I'm not going.”

“Ok, I’ll fill you in later.” Sofí smirks.

“Go where?” Emma wonders.

“To the place we got out tails.” Davys glowers at her cousin.

“A moon pool?” Emma's excited at the prospect of finding another one. “There's one here?”

“Yes, on the Saluwesi island.” Sofí’s brow furrows. “Are there other places like that?”

“Yes, well there was.” Emma quickly corrects. “My friends and I, we fell into a moon pool on Mako island. That’s how we became mermaids.”

“Where are your friends?” Davys looks around hoping they aren't far. She hopes they have a way of fixing this.

“We should go to the moon pool.” Emma urges. “It’s alright in the day. I'm guessing you felt the moon thrall…?”

“Yeah, a few nights ago.” Sofí frowns. “You know a lot more than either of us-, come on, Davys.” She looks at her cousin who finally nods and the three head to their moon pool.

Emma notices right away that’s it different from the one on Mako island. This one is larger- wider and longer, the crater at the top isn't so high up and the walls are peppered with the same meteorite pieces with the natural rock covered in moss, vines and roots.

“I can dry us.” Davys offers. Sofí gets them all out using her ability to manipulate the water. Emma is surprised at finding them and with how easily the girls use their gifts.

Once dry Emma still pats her denim shorts but not a drop of water remains. She smiles at the girls, both wearing bathing suits.

“So your friends?” Davys questions.

“How does this work?” Sofí jumps in.

“The Moon Pool was created when a comet that crashed on earth formed Mako island. A few years ago my friends and I were in the pol when the moon passed over. The water bubbled up around us…we had no idea. We were very surprised the next day.” Emma grinned remembering their own discovery of the tails.

“Oh,” Sofí sighs rolling her eyes. “We totally get that. I dove into our pool then next afternoon and got my tail.”

“She was screaming like a lunatic.” Davys adds.

“Like you didn’t.” Sofí scoffs.

“I tipped over in the shower.” Davys scowls remembering.

“I think we all have our surprising stories. Rikki actually ran through sprinklers in the middle of the day.” Emma reveals with a smile though at the time it hadn't been funny.

“Is she nuts?” Davys frowns.

“She obviously didn’t know.” Sofí shushes. “Is the Mako pool the original moon pool? Are there others that you know of? And what’s the purpose? I mean, why are we mermaids? Because I've been thinking about this and it doesn’t seem-.”

“Shut. Up.” Davys cuts in. “You cant get answers if you don’t let her answer.”

“Its alright. We had a lot of questions too. We don’t have too many more answers now but Lewis- he's normal- oh! Not that we aren't.” she's quick to assure.

“Oh my God.” Davys sighs rolling her eyes though she laughs. “You two… look, I just want to know how to get rid of it. Can we?”

Emma's silent for a long moment, her expression confused and a little sad. “You don’t want to be a mermaid?”

“Well,” Davys looks from Sofí to Emma, her brow furrowed. What she wants is not to get dissected or experimented on because if it weren't for that she really wouldn’t mind her mermaid tail. “I'm… its dangerous. If people found out- do any of us want to be locked up in some laboratory?”

“Davys, they’ve obviously been mermaids a lot longer than us and they haven’t been caught or experimented on.” Sofí scowls then turns to Emma. “You haven’t right?”

“No.” Emma assures and Sofí draws a relieved breath. “If you really don’t want to be a mermaid you don’t have to. You can give it up, just wait for the next moon that coincides with the planetary alignment that gave you your tails…” she shrugs.

“Wait, is that a permanent thing or …” Sofí frowns. “Because we’ve been in the moon pool twice and we’re still mermaids.”

Emma explains about the moon pool and the lunar phases. She tells them about Cleo, Rikki and Bella but there's not enough time to tell them everything.

“I think we all have to get home.” Emma concedes when the cave noticeably darkens. “If you like, tomorrow you can come to my home. We can talk there.”

**H2O**


	11. Friends

The girls are up early the next morning, dressed and ready to get over to Emma's house. They tell Tobías they made a friend before Emma show up to the house boat.

“This is Emma.” Sofí introduces. “We’re going now.”

“Wait a minute.” Tobías laughs. “What’s the hurry?”

“Horses.” Emma adds when the girls look at each other. “My husband runs an equestrian school. I've invited the girls for some riding lessons. I hope you don’t mind.” She smiles at Tobías and the girls nod.

“Don’t forget we’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning, girls.” Tobías reminds them as they all head out. “Have a good time!”

It’s not a long drive to the school and once there, Ash greets them.

“So these are the newest members?” he smiles at them, holding out his hand. “I set up a brunch are for you out here. No one’s going to bother you girls, you can talk comfortably.”

They all sit down and Emma tells the girls everything she knows. That the only Moon Pool they thought still existed was Bella’s in Ireland since the one on Mako was destroyed. “I wasn’t there. But I felt it too.”

“So Ash and Lewis know about…the tails. Didn’t any of you tell someone else? You're families…”

“We didn’t know what they would do, how they'd react and to tell the truth we we’re all afraid of what would happen if we started telling everyone.” Emma leans on Ash feeling the reassuring grip of his hand in hers. “Revealing our secret is a burden none of us wanted to place on our families.”

Sofí and Davys share a look, each one thinking of the reaction their parents might have. Tobías would likely focus on the scientific side while Davys knows her Mother would flip out. Maybe once the shock wore off she’d get it in her head to sell the story, maybe even try selling Davys to the government or a private company. There’d be some money to get out of this- her Mom would figure it out.

“I wish we had more time.” Sofí sighs.

“That’s right, your Dad said you were leaving?” Emma questions.

“For work.” And Sofí explains. Emma and Ash share a look and laugh.

“Our friends are there.” Emma tells them. “Your Dad is going to be working with Lewis.”

“You can ask them any questions you have.” Ash assures. “Lewis will probably want some samples though-.”

“Oh,” Davys cuts in. “Sofí took plenty from the Moon Pool on Saluwesi, including a bunch more of these.” She pulls out her pendant and shows them. Emma reaches out, interested.

“That looks…” Ash frowns but he's pretty sure it’s the same.

“Like Bella’s.” Emma nods. “These were in the Moon Pool right?”

“How did you get them set?” Ash wonders.

“That was us.” Davys admits. “We made the nets from water webs. Sofí froze them and then I crystalized them.”

“Smart.” Ash smiles. “And very nice.”

“So… there were three of you on Mako. And Bella was alone. So was the other girl who lost her tail later, right?” Davys looks at Sofí. “It was just us on Saluwesi… maybe that explains our color?”

“It’s possible.” Emma shrugs. “Lewis could have other theories.”

“Be prepared for Lewis to want to study your coloring.” Ash warns them. “I've only seen Emma and the girls. I did think there might be others since there were before them.”

“We try to get together at least once a year.” Emma explains. “We can usually manage it and we’ve met Bella.”

“So, it’s like an underwater mermaid reunion.” Davys notes. “Guess the family’s expanding… Does that mean if we ever have kids they'd be half fish too?!”

“Whoa,” Sofí frowns. “I'm not planning on being _TeenMom_ , Davys.”

“If we did have kids then how much harder would it be to keep this a secret?!” she demands of her cousin fully annoyed.

“Are you trying to tell me something?” Sofí narrows her eyes on her cousin. “Because that’s a bridge I'm not planning on crossing anytime soon therefore I am not going to worry about it.”

“Help?” Davys turns to Emma and Ash because apparently Sofí wants to stick her head in the sand.

“Well…” Ash glances at Emma but it’s a conversation they’ve all had before. “We really don’t know. Lewis doesn’t think it works like that.”

“I'm hearing a lot of ‘think’ and not enough ‘know’.” Davys mutters dropping her head onto the table.

“She tends to worry about everything.” Sofí explains. “I finally got her to stop worrying Jaws is going to eat her.”

“Shut. Up.” Davys growls never raising her head.

“ _Jaws_?” Ash echoes. “You know those things are usually based on fact.”

“That’s what I said!” Davys looks up. “Finally, someone who gets it.”

**H2O**


	12. Prankster

Tobías gets a look at their new home and hopes the girls aren't going to mutiny because it certainly feels more like a deserted island than he was told. Sofí pops up beside him with Davys on his other side.

“So,” Davys looks up at her uncle. “Who did you piss off to get sent to the island version of the artic research plant?”

Sofí sighs and starts to correct her cousin with an explanation.

“I don’t care.” Davys waves her off. “I think that’s your welcoming parade.” She leans around Tobías to look at her cousin. “Don’t correct me on that either.”

Sofí just rolls her eyes and keeps quiet. Its not like Davys doesn’t know the difference.

“Dr. Tobías!”

“Just Tobías.” He waves off the title and smiles. “You're Lewis then?”

“That’s me.” He beams. “I'm really excited to be working with you dr- Tobías.” He spares the girls a brief glance and waves his hand in greeting. “We’ve got the lab set up and all your equipment ready if you want to take a look?”

“Oh yes.” Tobías is quick to start working. “Come on girls.”

“Doesn’t look as though they told him about us.” Davys whispers to her cousin.

“Nope.” Sofí agrees with a grin.

“This is going to be fun.” Davys laughs.

Cleo steps out of the lab just as they all arrive at the main building. She cut her swim short when she spotted the boat heading towards them.

“This is my wife, Cleo.” Lewis makes the introductions and the girls are quick to separate themselves from Luis and Tobías with a warning to try and not get lost.

“So,” Davys smiles. “What’s fun to do around here?”

Cleo’s eyes skip from one girl to the other but Sofí doesn’t give her a chance to answer.

“I bets there's a great place to go swimming.”

“Yeah,” Davys chimes in noting Cleo's apprehensive look. “We really love the water.”

“We’re practically fish.” Sofí adds trying to control her laughter.

“She goes every morning.” Davys agrees.

“It’s a ritual.” Sofí nods. Cleo looks hesitant, not sure where to send the girls that will keep them away from her own secret swimming hole.

She obviously takes too long because they each grab a hand. “Come on.” They drag her outside heading right for the beach.

“Maybe you girls should settle in.” Cleo pulls back. “I mean you only just arrived. You must be tired.”

“Nope.” Davys shakes her head.

“We had plenty of rest on the boat.” Sofí agrees.

“Well, its getting late. Tomorrow!” Cleo smiles hesitantly, glancing over her shoulder but Lewis is nowhere in sight. “Your Dad wouldn’t be too happy if we got lost out here.”

“That was just one time and we could just follow the beach to the house boats.” Sofí waves off the concern chucking her sneakers and slipping out of her shorts.

“You can swim, right?” Davys drops her tank-top still smiling and heads for the water’s edge careful to stay far enough away not to get wet.

Sofí runs past laughing. She jumps into the water while Davys watches Cleo's startled expression. She laughs and duns into the waves easily catching up to her cousin.

“Come on!” they shout as Cleo stares open mouthed at them.

“They're blue…” Cleo breathes. In the next breath she's running towards the waves and jumping into the surf. “You're mermaids.” Is the first thing she says.

“So are you.” Davys laughs.

“We’ve met Emma.” Sofí explains.

“She knew…” Cleo laughs. “Follow me. We cant stay this close to the facility.”

They head out, further into the ocean and Cleo weaves between them, the three falling into sync.

The shades of blue on their tails draws her eyes to the fluid movement they have. And the different arrangement of the scales banding across their chest looks more decorative, the pattern thinning out along their back.

Cleo finally points them back to the island when the sun begins to set.

Once again on the beach, Davys is quick to dry them out.

“I cant believe Emma didn’t tell me.” Cleo shakes her head smiling.

“We asked them not to.” Davys reveals. “Figured we’d have a little fun.”

“How… we should find Lewis.” Cleo hurries her step taking each girls hand and hurrying them along. “We’re both going to have lots of questions. Like why you're blue? And how- I mean, the Mako Moon Pool was destroyed.”

“It’s a different Moon Pool. We showed it to Emma.” Safi explains as they head into the facility.

“We weren't sure.” Cleo nods. “Bella was made in Ireland. So we thought there could be others but we didn’t know for sure and we’ve never seen others.”

“Other what?” Lewis looks up from his computer blinking at them.

“Mermaids.” Cleo says and rounds the desk noting his panicked expression.

“She's joking, of course.” He laughs nervously while the girls smile amused.

“Lewis-.”

“Its been very hot the past few days.” He cuts in. “I should get her to our house boat so she can rest.” He stands up wrapping an arm around Cleo's waist.

Davys laughs and Sofí gestures at the almost empty cup of water on his desk. She pulls it up and weaves it into a basket before slowly freezing it. Davys catches it and crystalizes the piece before holding it out to Lewis.

“Think of it as a ‘We’re sorry for freaking you out’ kind of gift.”

Lewis lets out the breath he's holding and finally laughs. “So…” he shakes his head. “Mermaids?” it obvious he's very interested.

**H2O**


	13. Don't Pity Me

The end of the summer is vacation is just a few days away and Davys still hasn’t decided if she's going to give up her tail or keep it. Her time with Tobías and Sofí has given her a glimpse of what it could've been like if her Dad had lived. Would she be that much different from her cousin? Davys doesn’t know but tis no use wishing things weren’t so krappy at home. Life is going to go back to normal- she's going to live in the closet of a bedroom, avoiding the a-hole, pretending her Mother isn't on something half the time…

_‘What am I going to do about my tail?’_

Because the smart thing would be to give it up. There's no way Davys could hide it. Someone would find out, life would be _over_ , no question.

And even with all the bitching and complaining Davys has done since their first dunk in the Moon Pool…well, she likes her tail. The freedom of being in the ocean…

Sofí climbs up the rocks at the falls Cleo showed them, the most secluded place they could bathe without fear of being discovered. Its exactly where she knew Davys would be.

“Hey,” she calls softly and moves to sit beside the other girl. “So…” neither speak for a while just watching the sky as the sun slowly begins to set. “Davys?” Sofí fidgets and she glances at her cousin still staring at the pool below them. “So…maybe you should come live with us?”

There's silence for a long moment. Sofí thinks maybe her cousin is ignoring her and tries again. “Permanently. My Dad will talk to your Mom- he can get her to agree.”

Davys laughs. “We’d so tear each other’s hair out.” She looks at Sofí. “What do you want me around for anyway?” she frowns. “I'm not like your preppy girlfriends and other than our tails we don’t really have anything in common.”

“We’re family, Davys.” Sofí reminds her. “That’s more important than our tails.”

Davys gets quiet, not sarcastic amusement or smart ass remarks. She stares at Sofí, her expression closed off and it makes her cousin uncomfortable.

“Why?” Davys wants to know. “The truth.” But Sofí hesitates too long. “It’s real easy. I'm not asking the impossible here so it shouldn’t be that hard to answer me. But the fact you're hesitating tells me there's more to why you're making the offer.” She's angry and as hard as Davys wants to fake indifference she can’t. “If you're thinking I'm going to take your pity-.”

“Why do you have to make it so hard?” Sofí cuts in with annoyance. “Are you a masochist like your Mother? Because you can go back to that life and blame everyone else for whatever goes wrong instead of taking the opportunity to choose to be happy and productive.” She frowns, not understanding the problem. It seems easy enough to her. “Nobody is asking more of you than what you can be but hey, if you'd rather not put in the hard that’s fine too. I’ll be happy not seeing what a screw up you choose to become.”

“You think you know.” Davys says softly. She gets it now, why Sofí's asking her to live with them, what Tobías saw even though she tried to hide it. “You, the Princess with her perfect attendance and 3.0gpa. with the nice home and daddy who loves you... what the hell do you know about me Sofí? Huh? What did Uncle Tobías see that makes him think Mom's such a fuck up I need to be rescued? Huh? What the fuck does he think happens in my house?!” she's on her feet before either realize it and little tufts start to smoke all around them.

“Davys.” Sofí warns getting to her feet. Some patches spark with fire now. “Cut it out, Davys!” she makes ice over the fires but it’s not putting them out just smothering them so they don’t get any bigger.

“Can't handle the fire, Sofí?” Davys shoves her, taunting her. “You shouldn’t have started if you weren't ready to get burned.”

“Are you crazy?! You're going to burn the whole place! Davys!!” Sofí makes more ice buts it’s not fast enough.

“I'm not crazy!!!” Davys makes the effort to calm down and puts out the fires. They stare at each other in silence, Davys still angry and hurt, humiliated. Sofí’s in shock, not sure how to handle this ‘violence’ or even if she should. She mad too because all she had been doing was offering an alternative, she’d meant it as a good thing.

“I'm not crazy. I don’t need to be rescued. Go find some orphan you can ply with your charity and leave me the fuck out of your good deeds.” Davys snaps before turning towards the pool and jumping over the side.

**H2O**


	14. Never On Your Own

Cleo finds Sofí sitting alone, staring at the wall of the communal dining area. She takes the empty spot beside the teenager and sits with her in silence for bit.

“This is fascinating.” Cleo notes and turns with a slight smirk towards Sofí.

“Hi.” Is the lackluster reply.

Cleo frowns. “So what's wrong?” her brow furrows and she looks around the empty room. “And where's Davys?” by the silence, Cleo figures the girls probably had an argument of sorts. Its normal, teenage stuff.

“Out.” Sofí replies. “Swimming.” She regrets even asking, listening to Tobías because Davys apparently likes her krappy situation. And why is it so hard with them when it really shouldn’t be such a big deal. They are family and asking her to live with them isn't a bad thing-

“Alone?” Cleo straightens up, her eyes wide. “Alone isn’t safe. Remember what we’ve told you girls.” She gets to her feet, eyes scanning the rapidly darkening sky.

“Hey, she's a big girl and she definitely doesn’t need anyone to watch her back.” Sofí protests when Cleo pulls her out of her seat as well. “Davys was really clear on that.” She pulls her hand out of Cleo’s and begins to sit yet again.

“It’s a full moon tonight, Sofí!” Cleo exclaims as she grabs her arm again and heads for the door.

“Oh!” her eyes go wide and she stops fighting Cleo. A full moon means Davys is going to get pulled to the moon pool.

Alone.

“If she's drawn to the Moon Pool she could lose her tail forever.” Cleo warns. Neither of them know if that’s a choice that Davys has made but Sofí knows it’s one her cousin can’t make out of anger. It shouldn’t.

**H2O**

Lewis heads back to the facility, concern furrowing his brow as he looks up at the darkening sky. It’s going to be a full moon and he knows how that makes Cleo react. He hasn’t seen her and they made plans –

“Oh, Lewis.” Tobías smiles in greeting. “Have you seen my girls?”

Uh-oh is Lewis’ first reaction. “Nope.” He shakes his head and tries a smile that wobbles sickly. “Sorry. I think they're with Cleo.” He adds and immediately wishes he hadn't.

“Ah, well then I won’t worry.” Tobías shuffles off, back to his work.

“No,” Lewis mutters. “You don’t worry. I’ll worry for the both of us.” He hurries back outside intending to look at the swimming hole they'd discovered. “Cleo… where are you?” he whisper under his breath.

**H2O**

She's playing with the stone on the silver chain staring into the Moon Pool. She's not sure what she's doing there…

Would it be so bad?

She could give up her tail, go home, be a regular normal girl…

She could keep her tail, stay a mermaid and wander the ocean without anyone to worry about. No one telling her what to do…

She could lose herself exploring, learning – and what if there are others somewhere else on the planet?

Maybe if she found one, another mermaid…

Everything is based on fact. Somewhere, someone, at one time found out mermaids were real… and what if there was a place they all lived? A place hidden away from people?

“I wouldn’t have to worry about crazy scientists there….”

There’d be other mermaids as well…she wouldn’t be alone…

**H2O**


End file.
